Hope Remains
by foreverjaded
Summary: When all hope for his love seems lost, a walk through Mirkwood shows Haldir that hope always remains *implied slash H/L*


Yay! I'm so excited, my niece or nephew is due to be born at the end of May, and I'm really happy at the moment SO I thought I'd write a happy-ish kinda story...beware, happy means high levels of fluffiness!  
You've been warned :)  
  
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HOPE REMAINS  
  
Haldir gazed at his reflection in the glistening pool, the bright sky above creating a pattern of sparkling light which danced across the surface. He smiled a little to himself, remembering happier moments at which he had looked into this small pool, almost hidden behind a jutting rock on the hillside. Times in which Mirkwood had been full of soft laughter ringing out like music through the wooded glades, rivers running like silver through the maze of whispering trees, a small breeze making their leaves rustle and sway as if it was surrounded by a sort of magic.   
  
But that was before the Great Battle had happened there, Orcs ruining it's beauty under the command of Saruman. Rumours had reached Lothlorien of barely a single Elf surviving, their immortality ripped to pieces by the will of Sauron. Of course, some survived, and Haldir remembered his sorrow as he watched them pass Lothlorien to go to the Grey Havens without his great friend and love. Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, had not journeyed with them, and so Haldir had feared the worst. Haldir never left Lothlorien.  
  
He stood at the top of the hill, seeing the Anduin flowing in the distance, the sprawling woods of Lothlorien beyond it. He turned to the direction he was heading, the direction of Mirkwood, its dark, shadowed forest below. Haldir began to question why he had journeyed here, realising that he didn't know himself, didn't know why his heart longed to see Legolas' home so much. He had set out to see the rest of Middle Earth, the lands he had heard of in tales and stories...yet he found himself drawn to Mirkwood. He sighed and began the descent downhill towards the woods.  
  
As soon as Haldir had stepped foot inside the forest, he immediately felt the emptiness of the place fill his heart, the deserted woods eerily quiet. He continued walking through, each step he took making a resounding crunch, which seemed to echo and disturb the stillness.  
  
In the distance, between the overgrown trees, he spotted a glimmer of sunlight in the distance. It seemed a strange sight in such bleak tangle of forgotten paths and shadows, and he walked further towards it before finally realising that it was the Elvenking's palace, Thranduil's House as Haldir remembered it. He took another step before he stopped dead, keeping his breathing to a bare minimum, his eyes searching the area around him. He had heard a noise. Someone else was here.  
  
He heard it again, a light crackling of twigs, but loud enough for an Elf to pick up. Grabbing his bow and arrow quickly, he turned towards where the sound had come from, his heart beating loud and fast in his chest, ready to shoot.  
  
"Haldir?" said a quiet voice, as though distant, yet standing right in front of the Lothlorien Elf. Haldir did not reply, convinced that his sight must be deceiving him in some cruel trick. "Haldir, do you not remember me?" asked the pale beauty in front of Haldir's eyes.  
  
"But...I thought you were dead...the battle..." murmured Haldir, wondering if this could be a spirit sent to bewilder him.  
  
"Nay, I am not dead" smiled Legolas. "But I feel it in my soul" he whispered to himself, so quietly that Haldir could not hear.   
  
"You're...you're still alive" said Haldir as his mind registered the sight before him. "I have never been so happy!" he cried, wrapping his arms round the Elf, who embraced him also. "I cannot tell you how much I have missed you...how is it that you're alive?" he asked, pulling away to face Legolas.  
  
"I was not slain in the battle, as I guess you thought I had. Alas, my father Thranduil died honourably fighting Mordor's evil creatures. His last wish was for me to stay and see that Mirkwood remained, that it should never be ruled by any other than an Elf. After the Orcs were slain, they all left here to sail to the West, and so I remained to hold my promise to my father, not to see Mirkwood abandoned..." He said no more of the matter, yet Haldir saw that memories were being played unwillingly in his mind.  
  
"So you are here by yourself?" asked Haldir. Legolas nodded. Haldir felt a deep sadness gather inside of him: Legolas was destined to remain here, living in loneliness, never again seeing outside the darkness of the woods.  
  
"What is wrong, my friend?" asked Legolas, worried by Haldir's troubled expression.  
  
"If it is alright, I would like to stay with you for a while" he said, unable to bear the thought of leaving Legolas by himself.  
  
"That is great news! Indeed, you can stay as long as you please!" said Legolas, his eyes shimmering with a new joy.   
  
And so the two elves walked towards the palace, where Haldir remained for many days. They often sat together or walked through the forest, talking of memories of younger days or telling each other the tales of different adventures. Sometimes they just sat in comfortable silence, Legolas' head resting against Haldir's shoulder, neither saying a word in fear of ruining the perfect moments they shared.  
  
One evening as they watched the stars begin to emerge from the velvet blanket of night sky, Haldir told the Mirkwood elf of the places he wished to visit, the things he wished to see.  
  
"I would like to see the Misty Mountains, or to visit the Shire, to see Frodo Baggin's family, or just to see where the hobbits live." He noticed that Legolas had not uttered a word for a long while. "Legolas, are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, it's just that...I do not like the prospect of you leaving. I know it is selfish, and I should not wish it upon you to remain in these lonely woods for longer than you wish but..."  
  
"If you would have it, I would stay with you here through all the ages" Haldir suddenly said, his heart speaking faster than his mind.  
  
"You cannot do that Haldir, there is so much you want to do" said Legolas quietly. Haldir smiled, and put his hand under Legolas' chin, gently tilting his head so that he was looking at him.  
  
"There are many things I desire to see, but none will be as beautiful as the sight before me now" he whispered, placing a soft kiss on Legolas' shocked lips. The Mirkwood elf looked into Haldir's eyes, seeing a longing and honesty apparant behind the pale blue colour.  
  
"If that is what you wish" he smiled.  
  
"I would wish for nothing else" replied Haldir.  
  
~The End~  
  
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See, I warned you it was fluffy! How I love a happy ending :)   
  
Please review!  
  
Kat xxx 


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